Mötley Crüe and Def Leppard will play a handful of U.S. concerts next year before officially launching the international portion of their co-headlining tour.

Crüe and Def Leppard finally completed their twice-postponed 'Stadium Tour' this past summer in North America. A few weeks after the tour concluded, the two bands announced 28 more shows in Latin America and Europe for 2023.

Before playing the first international show of the 'World Tour' next February, the two headliners will set up in Atlantic City, NJ, for a two-night residency at Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena, February 10 and 11.

Presale for the Atlantic City dates is open now. Public on sale begins Friday. Go here for more information.

The Atlantic City shows are expected to be Mötley Crüe's first with John 5 on guitar, replacing the retired Mick Mars.

While Mars remains an official member of Mötley Crüe, he announced in October that he has retired from touring due to ongoing issues with ankylosing spondylitis, a chronic arthritic condition he's suffered from since he was a teenager.

"We will carry out Mick's wish and continue to tour the world as planned in 2023," the band wrote in a follow-up to Mars' announcement. "No doubt will it take an absolutely outstanding musician to fill Mick's shoes so we are grateful that our good friend John 5 has agreed to come on board and join us moving forward."

John 5 is a renowned solo artist, session guitarist and sideman, who has worked with the likes of Rob Zombie, Avril Lavigne, David Lee Roth, Steve Perry and others. John 5 also co-wrote three original Mötley Crüe songs with Nikki Sixx for the band's 2019 biopic, The Dirt.

Asked about the decision to bring in John 5 to replace Mars, Nikki Sixx emphasized that the guitarist "checks all the boxes," in terms of his ability, his personality and his preexisting relationship with Mötley Crüe.

Ross MacLeod